Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle…. 
FINAL
Cincinnati 2
Philadelphia 3
W:  Bastardo (2-1)
L: A. Chapman (3-2)
POSITIVES
— Homer Bailey threw seven shutout innings.
— Jay Bruce hit another long home run. He has 17 RBI in May.
— Joey Votto continued his hot streak, with two hits. Todd Frazier showed a few more signs of snapping out of his slump with two hits. Xavier Paul, who should be batting second, got on base three times in four plate appearances.
— Dusty Baker was willing to bring Sean Marshall in to pitch the eighth inning. Baby steps.
NEGATIVES
— The Reds only scored two runs against a rookie right-handed starting pitcher and a weak bullpen.
— The bullpen combination of Jonathan Broxton, Sean Marshall and Aroldis Chapman gave up three runs in two innings. If Broxton had been faster covering first base on Ben Revere’s routine ground ball to first base, he’d have retired the Phillies in order in the eighth.
— Ryan Hanigan twice threw the ball into the outfield on stolen base attempts.
— The Reds were like 100-1 when Xavier Paul starts. They were leading when he was pulled from the game today. Just sayin’.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
— It’s only one loss. It’s only one loss. It’s only one loss. It’s only one loss. It’s only one loss. It’s only one loss. On to New York tomorrow for Johnny Cueto Day.
— Aroldis Chapman has two blown saves on the road trip and has even looked frustrated in games when he’s earned a save. Slumps happen to every single closer. We know Chapman can close from last year, when he had the same pitch portfolio. Right now, he’s a middle-of-the-pack closer.
— Homer Bailey (2-3) has really been unlucky in terms of wins this year. He’s given up two or fewer runs in six of his nine starts. In some ways, this start was more impressive than his last one, when he pitched a complete game against the Marlins. Today, the location on his fastball was off, he adjusted and pitched his way through several jams.
TOP GAME THREAD COMMENTS
— renbutler: Gameday confirms that strike three landed in the Delaware River. Horrible call.
— cliff: That Homer is such a head case.
— Mwv: Chapman not looking good at all on that first batter.
— Kyle: It feels like the Reds dominated this series but walk away with the series loss.
— Sergeant2: Best to put this game in the rear view mirror and forgettaboutit. Regroup and on to the next game and a nice little winning streak. Plus Cueto’s coming back, can’t wait to see Cueto back in action. Shake it off boys, shake it off. Go Reds!!
— Hank Aarons Teammate: Many people here have advocated trading Chapman, not just me. Doesn’t mean I think he’s bad or anything. He’s completely wasted. I’d trade Joey Votto for Mike Trout, in a second. And I love Votto. Broxton is not as good as Lecure, Hoover, or Simon. Or Marshall. Just because he was good many years ago does not mean he’s good now. Unless you ask Dusty Baker.